


Merely Pretending

by arsenicarose



Series: Dr. Spencer Reid: Drabbles, Fluff, Short Fics, and More [9]
Category: Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fake Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Reader-Insert, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 01:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11326140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arsenicarose/pseuds/arsenicarose
Summary: Spencer offers to take you to your friends party, pretending to be your boyfriend. You want it to be real, does he?Stand alone fanfic in a series of stand alone fanfics.Please feel to make requests in the comments below. :)





	Merely Pretending

You try to hide it from showing on your face, but you are working with profilers. Someone was bound to figure it out eventually. This time, it was Spencer. 

“Hey, Y/N, what’s going on?” he asks.

“Nothing, Spencer, don’t worry about it.”

“Come on, Y/N. You’ve been stirring your coffee for 6 minutes and twelve seconds. You have an unfocused gaze on the window. You’re biting your lip absentmindedly. Clearly, something is going on. I’d like to help, if I can.”

Spencer has always been a perceptive one, and he really cares. It isn’t _that_ embarrassing, right? He, of any of the team, would understand. “One of my friends invited me to a party.”

“And that is bad because you don’t want to go? Or…?”

“I told her that I had a long-term boyfriend a while ago. She kept setting me up on these disastrous blind dates, and I needed a way to get out of them. She means well, but she doesn’t aim for my type. If I go without this ‘boyfriend,’ she’ll get suspicious.”

“Why would she get suspicious? I mean, your ‘boyfriend’ could be sick or busy with work.” Spencer’s reply is serious, without a hint of teasing. It is such a relief

“I’ve been ‘hiding’ him for months now. She saw a picture, but she hasn’t met him. I don’t know how long I can keep up the charade.”

“She saw a picture? Of who?”

You blush, and look away from him. “That’s not important…”

“It is important! You’ve limited your options by revealing this ‘boyfriend’s’ face. Who was in the picture? Did you find it online?”

“Well, no. She could reverse image search an online picture, and anything that had already been posted to Facebook would be immediately recognized as fake too.”

“So, who did you use?” Spencer asked, completely unaware. He could be so wonderfully oblivious.

“Um, you remember when Penelope and Derek made the team go out? We all got really drunk and started posting pictures to Instagram of us all hugging and being silly? Well, Derek was hanging off of Pen in most of the pictures, and Hotch and Rossi are too old, so…"

He still looked confused, but it finally dawned on him. “Wait… me?”

“We took a picture together, laughing and hanging off each other. She assumed and I didn’t correct her. I’m sorry, Spencer. I should have told you.”

“So, you didn’t show her, she found it?”

“Yeah, I was tagged on Instagram. I don’t connect it to my Facebook because I keep my FBI and personal lives separate, but she is friends with me on both.”

“So, I’m your ‘boyfriend?’” The cogs are working in his mind, and you wonder what he is thinking about.

“Yeah, I guess so. Again, I’m really sorry.”

“How long have we been ‘dating?’ I mean, how long did you say?”

“Um… Five and a half months…”

Spencer doesn’t say anything for a while. He presses his fingers to his lips, lost in thought. You don’t add the reason that she had believed you: Spencer is exactly your type. She thought you had finally got the illusive cute nerd you had been searching for.

“I can break it off, if you want,” you say, quickly, “I can say it was recent, and I don’t want to talk about it. I didn’t mean to…”

“It seems like the parade of blind dates would resume if she knew you were actually single.”

“I can handle that. It was a good break.”

“It doesn’t have to end… What if I just went with you?”

Your jaw drops to the floor. You would never have dreamed of asking, but… “Are you sure, Spence? I mean, I don’t want- That is- I mean- I wouldn’t want to impose. I’m not telling you this so I can… take advantage.”

Spencer smiles, and puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “We’re friends, Y/N. I wouldn’t want you to have to battle endless bad dates. It’s one night, and I do enjoy spending time with you.”

“Thank you, Spence. That would be amazing.”

\---

You check yourself in the mirror again. You put on your best, most flattering outfit, but you want to make sure it looks right. Even if this isn’t a ‘real’ date, you should pretend like it is, right? In the back of your mind, you know you are dressing up for Spencer, but you push that thought aside.

He arrives right on time, alerting you to his presence with a hesitant knock on the door. When you open it, you are taken back by him. It isn’t that he has dressed up, but he definitely looks good. He is wearing one of his usual button up/sweater vest combinations, sans gun, and a pair of slacks. Somehow, he looks better than usual. Maybe it’s his artfully done hair. Maybe it’s the grin. Maybe it’s that he is at your door, ready to take you out.

“Wow, Y/N, you look great,” he says.

“Thanks, Spence.” You have a really good feeling about tonight.

\---

The party is in full swing when you arrive. Spencer and you drove in silence, and you were afraid to push it, afraid you might say the wrong thing and scare him off.

At the door, he leans down and asks, “Can I put an arm around you? It might look more convincing.”

“Yes, of course, good idea!”

He gently wraps his arm around your shoulders, securely but not possessively. That is how you greet your friend at the door.

“Welcome, welcome! Y/N, I’m so glad you can make it, and I finally get to meet the illusive boyfriend.” She winks at Spencer.

He smiles, calm and confident. “Hello, my name is Dr. Spencer Reid. So glad to meet you. Y/N talks about you all the time.”

Your friend turns to you. “A doctor? Oooo, congrats!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty lucky,” you reply, allowing yourself to gaze up at him. You let some adoration show through, just to make it plausible of course.

Spencer meets your gaze, and, though he is clearly shocked for a moment, he matches your adoring look.

Your friend squeals with delight and pulls you inside. She marches you both to a pair of vacant seats and begins her barrage of questions. You had prepared Spencer for this, and he answers with ease. Mostly, she asks about his personal and professional life, so he doesn’t have to lie much. Even when she asks about how you met, he just tells an amusing but cute story of the first time he saw you in the field. Listening to him describe it from his perspective, you can almost believe it is real.

Suddenly, your friend says, “Oh my god! I haven’t offered you a thing! Can I get you something to drink?”

You request a glass of wine, and Spencer asks for water, as he is driving you home. She gives an approving look before going to the kitchen.

“You are doing really well, Spence!” you whisper, excitedly, “That story was perfect! How did you come up with that?”

You think you can see him blush, but he merely says, “I listen to Garcia talk about romantic plots a lot. Just used some of her language and the real experience.”

You try to hide your disappointment. “It was really… persuasive…”

Silence falls for a moment, and you remember he is a profiler. He might be able to tell what you are feeling from your facial expression. You paint on a smile and try to remember what you are doing, what he is doing for you. Him being convincing is helping your case.

You see your friend heading back, drinks in hand. “Oh, she’s coming back!” you whisper.

“You know, Y/N. You have really gorgeous eyes. Has anyone ever told you that?”

You try to hide your surprise. This is part of the show. “You have, just now,” you tease, “But your eyes are also magnificent. So expressive, Spence. I love watching your face while you talk. It adds volumes to what you are saying.”

Spencer’s face becomes unreadable. Oops, that might have been too far.

“Alright, water for you and wine for you,” your friend says, handing out the drinks, “You guys are so cute, by the way! Staring into each other’s eyes and all.”

You allow a chaste blush, and take a small sip of wine. You will need all your faculties to maintain this.

Spencer’s arm loops around you again, and you lean against him. He is really good at this. If you didn’t know better, you would think he was flirting with you.

Your friend sits with you for a while longer before her other guests draw her away. She thanks you again for coming, and slips away, promising to come back and check in later. Considering the situation, it sounds almost like a threat, but there is no way she knows.

Now alone, conversation stalls. Spencer still has an arm around your shoulder, but you don’t know what to say. You just relish in the moment, leaning against him and his gentle grip. You can’t imagine anything better. Well, anything better that you could do with your pretend boyfriend. 

“Your friend is… interesting,” Spencer ventures.

“Yeah, she can be intense. She really just wants the best for me, and she thinks that is a man in my life. I can understand, she is in a happy, long-term relationship. Has been for years. Sometimes, I want that, you know?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Silence falls again, so you say, “Thanks again for doing this, Spence. This will get her off my back for at least a few months. I won’t even need to take you…” You frown, realizing you are right. You won’t have an excuse like this again for a while.

“I was happy to, Y/N. Like I said, I enjoy spending time with you.”

You spot your friend eyeing you from across the room. You turn your head up to Spencer, and decide to try something. “Hey, Spence?”

He meets your gaze. “Yeah?”

“You know what would make it more authentic? If we, uh, kissed.” You feel the heat in your cheeks, so you look away.

He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and again you worry that you have gone too far, but he says, “You’re right. If you are comfortable, let’s do it.”

Excitement explodes through your body like fireworks. You didn’t think that would work, but he said yes!

You turn your face back to him, and he cups your cheek with his palm. You eye his lips hungrily, and he leans in. You wrap your arms around him and pull him against you. Your lips meet, and it is perfect. He is gentle, careful, sweet. His other hand finds the small of your back and pulls you closer. Your fingers find his luscious hair, and you run them through it.

You want to go further, but you remember where you are, and who you are with. You pull away, and he lets go. You try to hide how breathless you are, and you don’t hear him doing the same thing. Your almost full wine glass looks welcoming, and you take another swig as a distraction.

“Wow, Y/N. That was… convincing,” he breathes.

“That’s the point, isn’t it?” you reply, trying to hide your bitterness. That kiss was wonderful. It would have been better if you hadn’t known how good kissing him could be. This night could only last so long.

You peer over at your friend, and she is grinning. At least she can pretend. You are stuck with reality.

Spencer doesn’t say anything, and you let yourself finish your wine glass, sure that you have done enough for the night. You aren’t drunk, or even very tipsy, but you are relaxed.

“Are you alright, Y/N?” Spencer asks.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” you lie.

“Y/N, you can trust me. What’s bothering you?”

The wine lets the words escape your mouth before you can stop them. “I keep thinking, ‘This is too good to be true.’ Then, I remember that it isn’t true.”

That was a huge confession, and you cover your mouth with your hand. You imagine your face is bright red, and you regret that glass of wine. Normally your tolerance is better, but normally you aren’t kissing your friend.

“It could be true…”

“What?”

“I mean, what if we didn’t pretend. What if we actually dating?”

This is not the Spencer you know. You look into his big, brown eyes, and they look sincere, but you can’t reply.

“I really do like spending time with you. I told the story of how we met as I remember it. You are enchanting. And the kiss? Oh, Y/N, I want to kiss you again.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

You lean in carefully, fearfully. This is impossible. Any moment, he will say he is joking.

But he brings his lips to yours. His arms embrace you, and you fall into it. This kiss is so much better. Neither of you hold back, and now you feel what you had ignored the first time: his desire.

You break away, dazed and breathless.

“Would you like to go on a date with me? Like a real date?” he murmurs.

“Oh god, yes."


End file.
